Commercial detergent formulations make it possible to efficiently clean industrial, domestic or communal hard surfaces. They are generally composed of an aqueous solution of surfactants, in particular of nonionic and anionic or nonionic and cationic surfactants, of solvents, of alcohol(s), in order to facilitate drying, and optionally of sequestering agents and of bases or acids, in order to adjust the pH. A frequent disadvantage of these detergent formulations is that the subsequent contact of the hard surface with water results, during drying, in the formation of marks. In addition, the treatment with these formulations is only, for the majority of them, purely curative and not preventative. Thus, industrial or domestic cleaners are effective in cleaning the soiled hard surface but do not make it possible to prevent or limit the future fouling thereof or even to promote the subsequent cleaning thereof.
For treating and/or modifying hard surfaces, in particular for the cleaning of hard surfaces, it is known to use compositions comprising synthetic polymers.
It has thus been proposed to use linear polymers or copolymers to render hard surfaces hydrophilic, for example copolymers deriving from cationic monomers, from acrylic acid and optionally from other monomers, such as acrylamide. Such applications and such compositions are described in particular in the documents EP-A-1 196 527, EP-A-1 196 528 and EP-A-1 196 523.
During many cleaning operations, water or an aqueous composition is applied to the item to be cleaned, rinsing is optionally carried out and then drying is allowed to take place. This is the case, for example, during the cleaning of dishes by hand or during the automatic cleaning of dishes using a dishwasher. The drying phase can take a certain time and/or can leave marks of water-soluble or water-dispersible materials (for example marks of inorganic matter included in the water) and/or marks of contaminants, generally grease, originating from the item to be cleaned.
It is known to add poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) to some compositions for cleaning hard surfaces, in particular to compositions for cleaning surfaces made of tiling or to compositions for cleaning the surface of toilet bowls. On these ceramic surfaces, PVP makes possible drying which is rapid and noticeable: the composition may be observed to gradually leave the surface and a composition front which moves over the surface like the ebb of a wave may be observed. The term “progressive dewetting” is often used; it concerns a discharge of the water by flow rather than by evaporation. This is appreciated by the consumer, who notices the effect of the composition and/or who notices that drying is efficient. The drying obtained subsequent to the application of a composition comprising PVP is in fact fast. Discharge by flow also makes it possible to limit the marks.
However, PVP has a limited field of application: it cannot be formulated in some compositions, in particular in compositions for cleaning dishes, or can be formulated only with difficulty within very narrow formulation windows. This is because, in compositions for cleaning dishes, which generally have significant charges of surfactants, it is poorly dispersible and/or of low stability in these compositions. It can in particular be harmful to the transparency of the compositions, while transparency is a quality desired by consumers.
The quality of the drying subsequent to the application of a composition for cleaning dishes, in particular, remains to be improved. There exists a need for compositions for treating and/or modifying surfaces, in particular hard surfaces, in particular compositions for cleaning dishes, which exhibit improved drying properties. There exists a need for compounds which can contribute such improvements and which can be easily formulated in compositions for treating and/or modifying surfaces.
Generally, there remains a need for novel compositions for treating and/or modifying surfaces and/or for novel uses of synthetic polymers, in order in particular to provide compositions which are more effective for certain functions, and/or compositions exhibiting novel properties, and/or compositions which are less expensive, and/or compositions comprising smaller amounts of active material.